Introduction
Launched in June 2024, the project will agree, document and promote best practice for the collection and management of product information by the various recipients of that metadata. Recipients will be UK or Island of Ireland based or be active in those markets.
The guidelines will be published with all stakeholders in mind. These include standards organisations, publishers, data aggregators, distributors, wholesalers, physical as well as online retailers, printers and manufacturers and other third parties.
The challenges of receiving and managing growing volumes of rich metadata include:
- The optimum timelines for processing inbound metadata
- Ownership and trustworthiness
- Compliance with recipient requirements
- Problem resolution
- The responsibilities of data recipients
Complimenting existing book industry standards by defining best practice for data recipients is key to sustainable metadata management. Product information that complies with quality, completeness and timeliness requirements not only aids the discovery of books and related items, but ensures that these are visible, accessible and appropriately represented.
Project group and lead
The project group is made up of BIC member volunteers from across the industry and is led by Stephen Long, an independent consultant with over 35 years book industry experience. The project will run from September 2023 until late 2024 and meet regularly online. Completion of the project will be followed by a period of adoption and review.
Project Brief
More information can be found in the Project Brief below:
Monthly project report
NEW Project outputs
Metadata Supply Chain Map. The visual shows how book and related product information flows between the different organisation types, from product idea through to intermediary data recipients.
Glossary. This is a practical guide to key terms, abbreviations and acronyms in the book supply chain.
Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities. This document defines supply chain roles and responsibilities as they relate to the creation and management of product metadata.
Please contact info@bic.org.uk for more information.